Distributed Generation has become a consolidated phenomenon in distribution grids in the last few years. Even though the matter is very articulated and complex, islanding operation of distribution grid is being considered as a possible measure to improve service continuity. In this paper a novel static converter control strategy to obtain frequency and voltage regulation in islanded distribution grid is proposed. Two situations are investigated: in the former one electronic converter and one synchronous generator are present, while in the latter only static generation is available. In the first case converter control will realize virtual inertia and efficient frequency regulation by mean of PID regulator; this approach allows to emulate high equivalent inertia, hence limiting the ROCOF and maximum frequency deviation, and, in the meantime, to obtain faster frequency regulation, which could not be possible with traditional regulators. In the second situation a Master-Slave approach will be adopted to maximize frequency and voltage stability. Even though the presented results are obtained in a grid with only two generators, the proposed approach can be extended to more general configurations with few generation units. Simulation results confirm that the proposed control allows islanded operation with high frequency and voltage stability under heavy load variations.

Future residential applications could benefit from nanogrids that integrate photovoltaics (PV) and battery energy storage systems (BESS), especially after the establishment of recent European Community directives on renewable energy communities (RECs) and jointly acting renewable self-consumers (JARSCs). These entities consist of aggregations of users who share locally produced energy with the aim of gaining economic, environmental, and social benefits by enhancing their independence from the electricity grid. In this regard, the sizing of the PV and BESS systems is an important aspect that results in a trade-off from technical, economic, and environmental perspectives. To this end, this paper presents an investigation on the optimal PV-BESS system sizing of a condominium acting as a JARSC community, which includes a common PV plant and EMS, operated by rule-based criteria. PV-BESS sizing results are investigated from economic and environmental perspectives, considering a case study located in Milan, Italy. In these regards, in addition to the common techno-economic criteria, carbon dioxide emissions are considered with particular attention, as their reduction is the driving ethos behind recent EU directives.

Due to the widespread integration of renewable energy sources connected to AC and DC power systems by means of power electronics converters, electromagnetic noise propagates along lines, and metallic earth-return structures. EMI filters are commonly used to mitigate the common mode and differential mode noise at the interface of distribution lines, and their suppression characteristics are usually assessed in standard test setups, the impedances of which are, however, scarcely representative of real-world applications. In this paper, an online, inductively coupled impedance measurement method is proposed. A sensitivity analysis to highlight the benefits of the proposed setup and experimental verification is performed. The proposed method enables non-intrusive impedance measurement in energized systems, including power converters. These measures, in turn, allow the evaluation of modal insertion losses of EMI filters in real-world operating conditions. The three-phase example considered in this study shows significant deviations from manufacturer specifications, thus justifying the need for more advanced estimation techniques.

A procedure for the derivation of a black-box model of electromagnetic interference (EMI) filters is proposed and discussed. The modeling approach is assessed by resorting to a real EMI filter. The equivalent circuit of the filter is directly obtained from a rational approximation of the scattering-parameter matrix measured at the filter ports. Therefore, the modeling procedure does not require any information on the internal structure of the filter (e.g., components, electrical/magnetic properties of the involved materials, connections leads, etc.). The circuit model is compatible with SPICE solvers and can be used for the prediction of conducted emissions in both the frequency and time domain. Specifically, the proposed modeling approach allows time-domain simulation and performance analysis of EMI filters in combination with power-electronic equipment (i.e., nonlinear, time-variant circuits).